Hey guys, figured I'd give y'all a little update on what I've been working on with the truck and maybe get some input on anything else I should be focusing on right now, and how I'm prioritizing the next few things.

To begin with, I've basically started putting a good bit of my spare money in the truck lately. Money was really tight with me trying to wrap up my school, and I am only now getting to the point where I've been able to start working on my laundry list of repair items. Here's what I've got so far:

-replaced rear, almost bald tires
-replaced 2 lower boots on the spider....evidently I have had a HUGE boost leak for months. Truck drives like an animal now!
-FINALLY replaced my front grille after running around with no front grille or bumper for 8 months....just waiting on some more free funds for the new bumper.
-been having a slow oil leak since I bought the truck and finally replaced all the oil cooler seals after it dumped 2 pints in the parking lot at work.
-replaced the fuel supply line running from the fuel bowl to ythe passenger side head...it was dumping diesel (and I mean DUMPING) in the valley from a worn spot where the retainer clip rubs on the line.
-rebuilt the fuel bowl....all seals and o rings are replaced now.
-its been about 6 months ago now, but I also rebuilt my IPR and replaced the gasket on the HPOP. Leaks should be pretty much resolved with the exception of the Turbo.
-just ordered a new entire shifter assembly....mines so sloppy it doesn't even engage the parking switch to start it up all the time.

I've got a set of bellowed up pipes sitting in the garage beside my dad's...so that job is coming up soon.


I've still got some front end steering slop I need to fix, factory original shocks that need replacing, and I want to go ahead and do a front leveling kit at the same time so I only have to get one alignment afterwards.

I also NEED to replace my exhaust with something more neighbor friendly...and I also need to replace my Turbo o-rings to fix the oil seepage from up there.


I'm inclined to go ahead and do the exhaust/up pipes/Turbo o rings and seals next because I'm running a risk of getting a noise violation ticket the way my exhaust sounds now. And because that would involve a new 4" Turbo back exhaust system. Which would be fun. Lol.

I still need to do a tranny and coolant flush too but honestly I think everything else I've listed here is more urgent.


Thoughts on anything else I should be including in these projects or other things I should look at that I haven't mentioned yet? I'm just trying to brainstorm everything I need to take care of beyond the obvious leaks/major issues I have been having. My main goal here is to just get the truck tightened up, running well, more reliable than it has been, and clean it up a little in the process.
I gotta say, I am really enjoying finally being able to clean the truck up a little and give it some love! Major PMS starting to kick in here....
And I'm still in the practical "fixing" stage of things...

 

... and somewhere in there is helping ME with my '11 mirrors, HPOP orings/lines, up-pipes, passenger fuel rail replacement, coolant & tranny flush, SS brake lines, etc., etc......

 

And your oil cooler o rings. Its cool, as much help as I've gotten from you lately I really should do more lol.

I would suggest not handing me the new mirrors tho...I might put them on my truck, purely by accident.

 

Maybe you already know this but did you check the 2 bolts on the shift cable under the dash? Mine did the same thing (also could not get into 1st), I had replaced the assembly on the side of the trans and still had the problem. I tightened the 2 bolts (one was about to fall out) and all is good again. Just thought I would throw that out there.

 

I actually tightened those up a while back and it helped alittle but its worse then before now...I'm pretty sure I've got a bigger wear issue going on. Thanks tho!

 

Doing new exhaust and up pipes together make the job a lot easier. Ask me how I know.

Chet

 

Time to re-prioritize Benjamin. Bump the new front shocks to the top of your list. Even if you go with something from the local parts store, you won't believe how much better the new shocks will ride than your worn out factory ones. And no alignment needed from just changing shocks.

 

Actually, as of this evening, a trip to the vet tomorrow with Benjamin's dog may take care of a little prioritizing for him.

 

I was wondering where you guys ran off to.

Exhaust leaks... seriously. I had that and Stinky really lived up to his name. Even if you straight-pipe with 4" temporarily and add the muffler later (as money permits), address the exhaust leak and the 4" downpipe in one hit. Fixing the leaks gave me more power, less smoke, less stink, less noise, and more MPG. Better MPG gives you more money for the next fix.

I hope the vet visit isn't "the big one". Best wishes.

 

Thanks... vet visit is probably nothing more than antibiotics for a couple of skin sores which have just popped up from nowhere, AND his flea/tick treatments. The combo might be enough money for a slight delay, but should not be major at all.... it's the pup in Benjamin's avatar, and he's only about 1 year old right now, so he should have many years left at this point.

 

Well good luck with all those jobs- That is a pretty good list you got there Ben ! Sounds like you 2 will be busy for quite a few weekends to come. Already said above- Do the ones that are costing u money first (mileage mods/ Leaks)

 

Well, the dogs fine, he just had some heat-aggravated dermatitis. And it wasn't that expensive.

For what its worth, it looks like I've got all the major leaks taken care of right now. I've been watching underneath the truck really close the past couple of days and only thing dripping is some air conditioning condensation. So I think I can cross that stuff off my list. I do still have some minor oil seepage around the Turbo but I think that can wait till I get the exhaust and I'm ready to pull all that out and do all the related work at once.

I can definitely see how shocks would be a good next investment. My only question is, wouldn't I need longer shocks whenever I do a leveling kit? If so, I need to do my leveling kit at the same time.

In the meantime, I just filled up with fuel, and I'm hoping to see some MAJOR mileage gains now.

One more thing related to mileage....the lock/unlock marks on my hubs are completely worn off. Which way is unlocked? And what's actually still connected if my hubs are locked but I'm in 2wd?

Just gonna keep on working on the list here...got my new shifting assembly in the mail and after that I have a feeling I'm going to be crossing a few things off of dads list while I save for shocks lol.

 

The more I think about this the more it makes sense...the bouncing is driving me up a wall...

 

Locking the hubs spins the front drive, introducing un-needed wear and friction. Spin the front drive shaft by hand, unlocked. Locked shaft = not-so-unlocked hubs.